“No, baby, it’s all going to come back. Every last bit of it, then you’ll be the perfect Cady Jordan. No missing pieces. You’ll be whole again.”

Cady flopped down on one of the kitchen chairs. She stared at her grandmother, her eyes full of questions. “Lola, what if I remember something that…that isn’t good? What if I remember that I did something to Jeff King? How will I handle that?”

“Let’s not worry about what-ifs. Let’s just worry about you getting the full picture. If something like that happens, we’ll deal with it. You have three allies now, and don’t you forget it. Boomer will make four if we count him. I really suspect he was there that day with the others even though you don’t remember that part. Yet. I don’t think he would come courting you if there was some deep, dark secret about that day. I don’t want you to dwell on that aspect of things because it might hamper you in remembering the rest of it. Agreed?”

“Agreed. There are no words to tell you how much I love the three of you. It’s like having two mothers and a really nice father who care about me. None of this would be happening if it wasn’t for all of you.”

“Here’s your picnic basket. You must let me know how Mr. Boomer likes my delicacies. They’re all finger foods, just the way a picnic is supposed to be, and there’s not one gassy thing in the bunch as per your grandmother’s instructions.”

“It’s such a relief to know that you actually listen to me sometimes, Anthony,” Lola said, tongue in cheek.

“Then I’m off. I don’t know what time I’ll be back. You aren’t going to wait up for me, are you?”

“Good heavens, no,” Lola said adamantly.

“Yes, you are, but that’s okay. It makes me feel loved.” She hugged and kissed each of them before she tripped out of the kitchen.

Atlas howled his displeasure until Lola offered him one of his favorite treats. “We’ll play ball later.” Playing ball meant Lola rolled a tennis ball across the floor, and Atlas brought it back to her.

“I think we’re going great guns, ladies and gentlemen. Now, what’s for breakfast?” Lola asked brightly.

17

Amy Chambers unlocked the door of her house with a steady hand. She hummed under her breath as she looked around the messy foyer and living room. As she moved toward the kitchen, she picked up toys, a stray sock, yesterday’s newspaper, and two empty beer bottles from the coffee table. She continued to hum under her breath to some unheard tune as she deposited the trash into the compacter. The stray sock went into the washer.

She needed to clean.

To scrub.

To disinfect.

To sanitize.

The laundry room had a plethora of cleaning supplies. All of them rarely used. Bucket, scrub brush, Clorox, soap, Brillo pads, and a sharp knife to get the grime and gunk out of the corners got dumped into a plastic bin. She looked around for a pair of rubber gloves but couldn’t find them. Her shoulders settled into a shrug as she continued to hum. The rag bag was full. Within seconds, a tattered dish towel was wrapped around her flyaway hair to keep it out of her face. She tied a huge bow on the wraparound apron she found hanging on the back of the laundry room door. She frowned. Where in the world had she gotten an apron? She shrugged again, since it really didn’t matter.